inspirational quotes | Dare Boldly

November Woman – #ShePersisted 2021 Desk Calendar – to view more paintings and quotes from the #ShePersistedSeries please click HERE

My mother often feared for my safety. Not because I was a thrill-seeker or purposefully did ‘dangerous’ things – though I did love to ski fast and swim deep and climb mountains and… okay, drive fast too — but to me, they never felt dangerous. Okay, well, maybe climbing mountains did while I was on the way up or down, but at the top? All danger vanished in the exhilaration of being atop a mountain seeing the beauty and wonder of the world spread out before me.

My mother wanted me to take the safe path. To keep to the well-known trails and to not deviate from what she knew would keep me out of what she perceived to be ‘harm’s way’.

I didn’t like her path. I wanted to create my own.

I’d love to say that I did it with grace and ease. But, the fact is, there were many, many bumps in the road. There were countless bruises and scrapes from falling down and knocking into things I didn’t see because I was walking around with my eyes closed. And, there were mistakes I made again and again because I kept thinking it was someone else’s fault, instead of seeing I was causing my fall because I kept thinking that if a road had a different name, it would be a different journey.

It took me a long time to realize that no matter what road I was on, the one person who was always there with me was me, myself and I. If I didn’t believe in myself, if I lacked confidence in my ability to choose the right path for me, or if I chose to turn a blind eye to the curves ahead or the potholes in my way, it didn’t matter if the road was well-travelled or well-lit. If my eyes were closed, or my heart shut down, or my senses turned off, I was bound to fall down.

Learning to believe in myself, to walk with my eyes and heart wide-open, has been a life-long journey. Learning to trust that I am my best friend and life coach and guide, still takes practice. Learning to listen to my heart, my gut, my intuition and all my senses, to ‘feel’ the world around me is part of learning to navigate this life in my own creative way.

November Woman is a reminder that no matter what path we’re on, if we’re on it because we think it’s easier to ‘just go with the flow’ of other’s choices and ideas, then we’re bound to feel the disappointments and ennui of not living our life to the fullest. She wants us to remember we are not born to live in the shadows of someone else’s light. We are born to shine. Bright. Fierce. Brilliant.

Life is not a guarantee of easy. It’s an invitation to explore paths unknown, to trust in ourselves and to walk with integrity, humility, kindness and Love as our guiding lights.

My mother always wanted to keep me safe.

For me, being safe isn’t about what path I’m on, it’s about trusting myself enough to light every path I’m on with the values she taught be. About the importance of kindness. The goodness of humanity. And above all, the power of Love to transform darkness and light.

Let us all carry belief in ourselves, belief in humanity and belief in the power of Love. Let us all light up the world with loving-kindness and the courage to be ourselves in a world that celebrates our differences and the many paths we take to create a better world for everyone.

October Woman #ShePersisted 2021 Desk Calendar – to view more of the series, please click HERE

The moon hangs high in the morning sky above the horizon bruised rose and violet by the sun’s awakening rays.

The air is crisp. The river runs past, its surface gunmetal grey tinted with the soft mauve reflection of the morning sky above. The trees sway in a gentle morning breeze as gracefully as Sufi turning round and round to the soft melodic chants of ancient verses wafting in the air around them.

And the earth keeps spinning.

And we keep breathing and taking, breathing and taking as if the largesse of Mother Earth will go one for eternity.

It can’t.

Go on and on and on.

Not if we keep treating Mother Earth’s gifts as ours to take and plunder and abuse.

We need Mother Earth to survive. She is not just our home. She is the home of every organism, every creature, every sentient and insentient being on this planet.

We must take care of her. We must act like guests on the planet. Not like we own her. Because we don’t. No one and no one thing owns Mother Earth. She is our host and hostess. She is our conduit around the sun every year. Our purveyor of all things wonderful and marvellous in our world.

We do not own Mother Earth.

Instead of taking whatever we want, whenever we want, lets sing a song of gratitude. Let’s give thanks for this wondrous planet that supports all of life without discrimination, without judgment.

Instead of abusing her, let’s change our ways and dig deep into our hearts to become the change we want to see in the world – Sustainability. Longevity. In all life. All things. All ways.

Our very breath depends upon it. And the lives of our grandchildren’s children depend on our changing our ways too.

Now. Forever. And Always.

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I have a limited number of #ShePersisted 2021 Desk Calendars left in my Etsy Shop. To order yours, please click HERE, or message me if you have questions or prefer to send an etransfer. Free Shipping in Canada. Get it in time for Christmas!